Optimize Control by Detecting Status Changes. Easily Satisfy Both Productivity and Quality.

The adjustments made by skilled workers are automated using AI. The innovation of production sites has begun.

Optimal and automatic temperature control without human intervention easily achieves both productivity and quality.

Previous temperature controllers have not only required a long time for start-up settings and variation adjustments, it has also been difficult to make the optimal adjustments without having experience and intuition. There were therefore some effects on quality.
In response to this situation, OMRON developed temperature controllers that includes "adaptive control technology."
This makes it possible to detect the changes in the status which will have an effect on quality and to automatically control the temperature so that the optimal state is always maintained, in the same way as a skilled worker would.
This frees production sites from troublesome start-up and adjustment work.

Causes of temperature variations on production lines

The answer was the industry's first inclusion* of "adaptive control technology"

With the "adaptive control" incorporated into this product, the optimal PID value is calculated automatically for both the time of the start-up and for during stable production. Furthermore, it is possible to monitor the temperature control status of the machine to automatically adjust the PID value to obtain the optimal temperature control in response to changes such as workpiece changes and machine changes.

* According to an investigation by OMRON of general-purpose temperature controllers for FA as of March 2017.

[New value that supports advances in packaging machines] The sealing temperature is measured accurately and controlled automatically for packaging machines that can maintain quality even at higher speeds.

Issues at production sites

· Faster packaging to respond to the demand for foodstuffs arising due to the population increases in emerging nations
· Increase in speed even when performing multiple-product production using a wide variety of packaging materials
· At higher speeds, the temperature difference between the sealing surface and the control temperature widens, so the failure rate rises…

E5[]D/NX-TC solve the issues

The temperature of the sealing surface is stably controlled automatically with measurement of the sealing surface temperature and algorithms to suppress variations.

Even if the speed of the packaging process is increased, the difference between the sealing temperature and the control temperature is minimized to perform stable automatic control, so it is possible to realize faster production while maintaining the product quality.
This also contributes to the use of thinner packaging materials and to high precision control.

Even with the production of multiple products that require changes to the settings, automatic control reduces the work

Even in the production of multiple products, which hinders faster speeds because a change of packaging materials can mean that time is required to change the settings, the use of automatic control that has a small error in the sealing temperature enables a speedy response at production sites.

Control performance that achieves new value

The temperature error is minimized with a temperature sensor for packaging machines* and an algorithm for packaging machines (automatic filter adjustment function)

*Sold separately

"Temperature sensors for packaging machines" to measure the temperature of the sealing surface

The temperature of the heating bar surface is measured accurately and there is no effect from factors causing temperature variations, such as the speed of the packaging machine and changes to the packaging materials.

By using the temperature sensor for packaging machines and the automatic filter adjustment function, it becomes possible to control the quality with the sealing temperature while also suppressing variation in the temperature with just a temperature controller, without relying on adjustments by workers.

[New value that supports advances in molding machines] Stable control of the temperature changes arising from faster speeds is performed automatically to realize molding machines that can maximize production capacity.

Issues at production sites

· Increased productivity to respond to demand expansion related to infrastructure as a result of the economic development of the emerging nations and the transfer of production bases overseas.
· At higher speeds, adjustments by the workers become necessary to respond to temperature variations arising due to factors such as the materials compounding and cooling water…
· It is difficult to achieve high speed production while also maintaining the quality…

E5[]D/NX-TC solve the issues

Temperature variations due to speed changes and changes in the status of machines are suppressed without adjustments by the workers

Stable control is achieved automatically by detecting the temperature variations on the heat generating parts of the material that occur when the speed of the extrusion molding machine is increased and by detecting the temperature variations due to variation in the cooling water. The work required for setting are also greatly reduced.

Also saves energy on the machine

The stable control reduces the wasteful use of energy on the heater by up to 40% compared with conventional machines.
* Data measured by OMRON on a water-cooled twin screw extrusion molding machine.

On a water-cooled extrusion molding machine, increased speed leads to temperature variations due to various causes and it was previously necessary for the workers to repeatedly make valve adjustments to stabilize the quality.
With the E5[]D/NX-TC, the water-cooling output adjustment function suppresses the temperature variations to a minimum and raises the production capacity with the quality maintained.